9| Liar, Liar

Danny opened the door and held it for me. Now that I was aware of what they were, their presence hit me like a storm. I sincerely wanted to run the other way.

'Willpower, Ash, willpower. Don't let these Lycans intimidate you.'

My confidence completely vanished as I caught sight of what was in front of me. The cement room appeared to be built specifically for interrogation. No kidding, it looked straight out of spy movies with the single table and two chairs setup.

It suddenly hit me that all the men in the room could kill me without blinking, except for Daniel. I swallowed as the eyes of the three Lycans settled on me. I instinctively grabbed Danny's hand. He just gave me a reassuring squeeze and smiled at me.

The Alpha's eyes narrowed at our clenched hands, but he said nothing. I swiftly removed my hand from Danny's, not wanting to cause trouble, and sat down in the chair in front of the Alpha.

"Start talking," the Alpha said, fixing his cold blue eyes on me.

"Straight to business, huh? Aren't you all going to introduce yourselves first? I don't really spout the story of my life to strangers."

His stare immediately turned into a glare.

"We are the ones questioning you, Ash. Do not test my patience."

I opened my mouth but shut it when Danny shot me a glare.

"That," Daniel pointed to his brother, "is Darren. He's the Gamma Superior." Then he pointed to the pure-blooded Lycan while I was still trying to connect the dots in my mind. "That's Ryke, the Beta Superior."

'Why does that name sound familiar?'

I restrained myself from asking as he pointed to the Alpha with a grin.

"And this is our Alpha Superior, Zakariya Frost, Alpha of the Eternal Frost pack and the Alpha Superior of the Northern Lands." Danny finished the introduction with a flourish.

Alpha Zak's eyes locked with mine as my mouth parted in disbelief. I couldn't help it.

I froze in shock.

'Of all the packs in the world...'

Though his face remained stoic, a glimmer of amusement passed through his eyes. I could see a small smirk appear on the face of the Beta from the corner of my eye, and Darren was openly grinning.

"Beta Superior Ryker Carson of the Eternal Frost?" I finally squeaked out in disbelief, trying to confirm this was real. That man had almost killed me! He was one reason for me losing all my powers. I almost cursed but held it in, anger bubbling inside me like a volcano.

Still, I was glad that he couldn't recognize me. It wasn't entirely his fault, but I still had to get back at him for the attempt on my life.

Ryke snickered as Zak arched an eyebrow at me, as if asking why I seemed to be more afraid of his Beta than I was of him.

"Look, Alpha, I'm more popular than you," Ryke said. Zak ignored him.

"Now that the introductions are over, start answering. The ceremony must have started, and I don't like running late."

My instincts screamed at me to run away from this dangerous pack of Lycans, but I couldn't. I knew I couldn't run. I did know what I could do, though.

'Lie.'

They all stared at me expectantly.

"My name is Ashley Diamante. I was not lying about that. The reason I can withstand your presence is that I can't sense it properly. I guess I'm broken? Kind of."

"What?" Ryke and Darren asked simultaneously. Danny was in too much confusion to speak. Zak merely looked at me with curiosity.

"Explain."

"I mean, I can't sense high-ranking Lupines at all. I can barely sense Lycans to an extent, but only if they are at least fifty percent Lycan and also only in proximity."

"That is why I couldn't sense Daniel at all. I always rely on my sense of smell, but I took a numbing potion to cancel out my smelling sense. Trust me; otherwise, I would have run the other way as soon as I smelled a Lycan within a three-mile radius."

Understanding dawned in his eyes.

'Yes. Eat up the bullshit.'

"So you can withstand my presence because you can't sense it properly."

I shook my head at his words.

"No. I can sense it, just not to its full extent, so it doesn't affect me as adversely as it would affect a normal Omega."

"So, are your instincts somehow broken?" Darren asked.

"I guess. I don't really care. It has a lot of perks." They all nodded in understanding.

I could only thank my ability to lie without my heartbeat skipping.

"Now that I have answered, can I go? As you mentioned, the ceremony would have started, and I have someone waiting for me."

"You certainly can, after you answer some more of my questions," Zak said, while I gave him a look of being wronged.

"But I answered all your questions!" I protested.

"And I have more. Darren, Ryker, leave the room and guard the door. Daniel can stay, as Miss Diamante seemed to be more comfortable with him around."

They obediently bowed their heads and left, leaving only me, Zak, and Daniel in the room.

'Did they figure out my lies?'

As I had thought, it was difficult to fool these Lycans. But he addressed me quite respectfully, even more so than before. Didn't that mean he had something else to ask?

Daniel looked calm, as if he knew something, and just gave me a reassuring smile.

It did nothing to reassure me, though.

"Relax, Miss Diamante. I'm merely curious about your 'makeover gone wrong,'" he said, amusement gleaming in his eyes. He knew. This Alpha knew I lied, at least about the makeover part. I slumped in relief.

"Well, want to tell me how this happened?" Zak asked. I glared at him.

"None of your business."